


romancing

by never_bloom_again



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: First Dates, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Kinda?, M/M, Pre-Relationship Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Soft Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Stressed Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), but really just fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-18 12:13:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29857902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/never_bloom_again/pseuds/never_bloom_again
Summary: eddie wanted nothing more than to go back in time and stop himself from promising to cook - now his attempt at romancing was going straight into the trash, alongside the charred food in front of him.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Comments: 1
Kudos: 97





	romancing

**Author's Note:**

> my first attempt at 9-1-1 fanfic, and eddie/buck!! but i really enjoyed writing this - these two are so sweet! i hope you enjoy!!

Eddie had never been destined to be a chef, that was for certain. As Christopher would attest, he was capable of burning just about anything - to the point it was a shock that he was yet to actually set anything aflame.

Whenever he and Chris would spend evenings with Buck, which was more often than not, at this point, they would rely on Buck’s cooking abilities, or take-out. It wasn’t even worth trying to get Eddie to cook something.

So how he had ended up in this situation, Eddie was not quite sure. Chris was with Abuela for the night, and he had finally worked up the nerve to ask Buck to come around for a romantic dinner - which he had agreed to cook for. 

He was hardly the most romantic - he and Sharon had never been all that into the whole candle-lit dinner idea of a perfect evening, even before their relationship had begun to crumble. Romance for Eddie was more about spending time together, regardless of what they were doing. 

But if their date was spent eating take-out, sitting on the couch and watching a film, it would essentially be no different to how they had spent time together when they were just friends, and aware that he was hardly the best at emotions, Eddie wanted to ensure that Buck was certain about what was going on. That it was a date.

Eddie hoped that Buck would appreciate the effort he was putting into it - the whole flowers, candles, fancy meal thing felt thoroughly unlike himself, but it did feel like something that Buck might appreciate.

What Buck would not appreciate, however, was the dish that he had cooked, lying, looking thoroughly unappetizing on the bench in front of him. Whilst the salad looked fine - there was little Eddie could do to fuck that part up - the charred meal he had just pulled out of the oven looked remarkably less so.

He cursed his complete lack of ability to cook even something so basic, and turned to frantically search through the cupboards and freezer for something other than two-minute noodle cups and Christopher’s dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets. Neither of those particularly seemed fitting or appropriate for the atmosphere.

His hair was a mess, and he needed to change, in just the short amount of time he had until Buck would arrive, so Eddie went to resolve those issues, still considering what he could do, so they would at least have some food to eat. He took a moment to look in the mirror, to breathe in, and breathe out. This was it. Nothing would be the same from here onwards.

Buck was, of course, slightly early - the knocking on the door meant he was out of time.  _ Oh shit, this hasn’t even begun, and it’s already a disaster. _ Although he was more than slightly panicked, Eddie hoped he hid his stress well enough as he opened the door.

In the soft light of the entry to Eddie’s house, Buck looked beautiful as ever, smiling softly. It was a strange sight - any other night and Buck would have let himself in by now, would have been sitting on the couch, deep in conversation with Chris. It was just another reminder of how  _ different _ this was to any other night of their friendship. A reminder of the way that everything was changing - for the better, hopefully. 

The pair exchanged greetings that felt awkward and unfamiliar, neither of theme quite sure what to say in this complete divergence from life as normal.

Realising that he had Buck’s eyes on him, waiting patiently, Eddie led him inside to the table which he had set up nicely, pausing as Buck took a seat, thinking rapidly about what his next step could be.

“So, what are we having to eat?” Buck asked, and there it was. The dreaded conundrum. Eddie could feel his face heating up, and his ears going red as he tried to think of how he could explain what had happened, without seeming like a terrible date. “I’m surprised you volunteered to cook, y’know. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you make a meal in the entirety of our friendship, to be honest.”

Buck’s slightly awkward laugh gave away what the intent of the question was - it was to fill the awkward silence that seemed to have engulfed the room, that was overwhelming them both, something the two of them had never had, not since they had first become friends. Things weren’t awkward between them - or they weren’t supposed to be, anyways.

“Ah, yeah, about that…” Eddie began, and it didn’t take long for Buck to piece together what had happened, without even having to be told. He burst out laughing, and for a moment, Eddie wanted nothing more than to leave the room, escape the embarrassment; clearly this whole dating thing was just going to fall to pieces - Eddie couldn’t even get their first date right, after all.

“I thought I smelt something burnt!” Buck managed to say, through his laughing, and for a moment Eddie was distracted from his humiliation, once again distracted by how gorgeous Buck looked, much like he had been when he had seen Buck waiting outside his door.

After a moment, Buck had moved on a little bit from Eddie burning their meal, and he recognised the look on Eddie’s face, and quickly became apologetic.

“Aw, Eds, I didn’t mean to laugh at you, man,” he said, and Eddie was clueless about how to respond, and stood awkwardly, trying to find words to say, to assure Buck that he hadn’t done anything. “How about we order some pizza?”

It was far from what Eddie had wanted to do with the night, but he put his issues with that away - he had his chance to do what he had planned and wanted, and it hadn’t worked, and Buck didn’t seem bothered at the prospect of something so… normal. In fact, he seemed relieved.

“Yeah that sounds good, I’ll go and do that now. Your normal, right?”

Buck nodded and grinned, walking over to the couch, where they would usually sit, abandoning the table Eddie had set up, and making himself at home. That moment felt far more natural than any other had yet.

After getting off of the phone with the pizza place, Eddie made his way over to where Buck was sitting, scrolling absentmindedly through Netflix.

As Eddie got comfortable, Buck moved so he was leaning into his side, his head resting on Eddie’s shoulder, making them both smile.

Telling Buck to hurry up and pick a movie, Eddie began to think that maybe  _ this _ wasn’t so bad - it was a reason it was normal for them, it worked for them, for who they were with each other. And as the god-awful action movie that Buck had chosen played, he focused on the weight on his shoulder, how it felt like  _ home _ to have Buck there with him, by his side.

“Thank you, Evan,” Eddie muttered, barely loud enough for Buck to hear him.

“All good, really. I care about you, even if you are a dumbass who can’t cook.”

That earnt Buck an elbow to the ribs.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope that this wasn't too out of character, and that you enjoyed reading it! <3


End file.
